Apocalypse Coming
by Kizmet
Summary: Anticipating dark days ahead, Cyclops breaks away from the X-Men to create a hidden sanctuary. Under the threat of a dire future should they fail to stop Apocalypse a new, outlaw team is formed.
1. Making a Home

**Making a Home** Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Marvel, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun. 

The early morning sunlight was reflected back off miles of white sand broken by the occasional cactus. A lonely jogger was the only sign of life. The rhythmic pounding of his feet on the sand was the only disruption to the stillness. 

Scott paused for a moment to wipe the sweat from his face and to tie his sweatshirt around his waist. Even after several months in the desert he was still surprised by the cold nights and by how quickly things heated up once the sun returned. 

He took a small sip from the water bottle attacked to his belt then resumed jogging. Mentally he reviewed the last few months. 

The first four weeks after they left Bayville had been hell. If Destiny had been around Scott would have happily strangled her for her unique viewpoint that didn't distinguish between past, present and future. When Rogue relayed Destiny's vision to Scott he'd interpreted it to mean that if they waited for Matt to straighten things out legally Lance would die before they succeeded. But during those first few weeks after they'd broken Lance out of jail they'd all started to worry that Destiny had meant it was already too late to save him. 

During the long drive out to California Lace had slipped into a trace state, awake but unaware, staring blankly at nothing and all they could do was wait and hope that the drug ran it's course before the last of Lance's strength gave out. For the group it was like holding their breath for four weeks. They're old life had been left behind, but they couldn't quite bring themselves to start the new one until they knew if Lance would be starting it with them or not. 

Then one morning they'd woken up and Lance had been missing. Scott found him three hundred feet from the base, sprawled across the sand. 

_"Hey." Scott said. _

Lance opened his eyes and looked up at Scott. He grinned. 

Scott sat down beside Lance. "So what are you doing out here?" 

"Just listening." Lance said. "I can feel the earth turning again." 

"So you're okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm okay. A little tired, pretty hungry, but okay. The world's real again. By the way, where the hell are we? That building I woke up in, it feels weird." 

Scott chuckled. "California, the earthquake state. You should feel right at home." 

"Oh. Is Kitty here?" 

"No, she'll catch up. She told me to tell you to call her." 

Lance pushed himself to his feet. "She's probably worried." He said. He swayed unsteadily as he started walking back. 

Scott pulled Lance's arm over his shoulders. "She is, that' why I'm not complaining about this call. But if we keep calling back and forth we're going to get caught. You're supposed to be dead." 

"Oh, how'd that happen?" Lance asked curiously. 

"According to the police Duncan Matthews murdered you. Given your history with him and your blood in the trunk of the car he was driving the case was open and shut. He'll be in jail for a long time." 

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer person." Lance replied. "Who else is here? I sort of remember Freddy." 

"Yeah Fred's here along with Tabby, Forge and Logan. Gambit's out," Scott paused disapprovingly, "getting funds. I didn't think of that when I was planning this. Gambit says the sort of people he steals from don't call the police. I'm not exactly in a position to complain." 

After that everyone got serious about making the base livable. 

Several centuries under the desert had been more than the automated cleaning system had been able to stand. A thick layer of dust covered everything. The power conversion system was also failing so they were left with minimal power. 

Forge happily bowed out of the cleaning and buried himself in the guts of the base's hardware. Tabby's ideas on how to cut corners were disasters waiting to happen and they usually didn't wait very long. Lance was still recovering. By default Scott, Fred and Logan were saddled with the bulk of the grunt work. 

Gradually things shaped up. Familiarity began to erase the creepiness factor of the base; so did the touches everyone brought back from town when they went on supply runs. 

Scott finished his jog and headed down into the base for a shower. 

He came across Logan and Lance working out in shaded cannon. Since they still worried about Lance over-exerting himself Logan was taking things slowly. They were working on basic forms. Scott waved to them as he headed inside. 

Fred intercepted him on the way to the showers. Scott noted the vaguely embarrassed look on the larger teen's face. "We're running low on food again?" Scott guessed. 

"It's not all me." Fred protested. "You should see Tabby putting it away. I don't know where it goes in her. She's so little…" He trailed off into confusion. 

Scott laughed. "Where do you think all her time bombs come from? Moira was theorizing about the different types of mutations. She says you've got physical mutation like you, Mr. McCoy or Todd, maybe Pietro too. Then there are psions like Jean and the Professor. Elementals, like Lance, Storm, Amara or Magneto, people who are directly tied into the basic aspects of nature. Channelers like me, Bobby and Roberto; we manipulate energy that already exists. Roberto and I change solar energy into something else; Bobby controls the concentration thermal energy. And then there are the true energy casters like Boom Boom, Jubilee, Gambit, Ray or Sam. Their bodies actually generate the energy that powers their explosion, so they all eat like it's going out of style. Their metabolism could keep up with Quickie's feet. Even so I'd rather not send Tabby into town, not after last time." Scott finished dryly. "The ATM card is on the shelf in my closet. Why don't you take care of it?" 

"Okay." Fred replied easily. 

"Get some classical music." A disembodied voice ordered. "Even if I can't drown out Forge's _Disco_ maybe I can annoy him as much as he annoys me." 

"Sure Cable." Fred said. "I'll get some more country too. You might not like it, but trust me, Forge will hate it more than you do." 

"Good enough." Cable grumped. "At least Alvers only sings on occasion, Forge never shuts that noise off. There are days when I have to wonder if destroying Apocalypse is worth living with teenagers. It used to be _quite_ here." 

"What did you guys do to him?" Scott asked Fred quietly. "He's never Mr. Sunshine but…" 

"Forge had an 'oops' while you were jogging." Fred explained. 

Scott nodded. Cable knew Forge was his best hope for repairs but Forge's rather casual 'It'll work next time' attitude toward mishaps drove their ghost to distraction. 

A few minutes after Fred had headed off to get ready for the trip into town. Tabby latched onto Scott's arm. 

"No." Scott told her as he freed himself. 

"I'm bored. Fred's already going into town why can't I go?" Tabby wheedled. 

"Why didn't I just call the Professor and ask him to send the X-Copter to take you home?" Scott wondered. 

"Because you want him to have deniability." Tabby reminded him. "Come on, I promise not to get into trouble." 

"No." Scott repeated. "If you're bored why don't you do something useful? I'm sure there are dozens of rooms that haven't been swept or scrubbed yet." 

"Well someone won't let me use my powers." Tabby complained as she glared p at the ceiling. "IT was just a little bomb. It would have burned the grime right off the walls if someone hadn't tried to electrocute me." 

Cable made a smug, self-satisfied sound. 

Scott rolled his eyes. "No powers." He ordered. "Use a broom and a mop." 

"You are such a dictator." Tabby sulked. 

"Grow-up Tabby." Scott said. "This isn't the Boarding House. We're not just trying to get by and have a little fun. Knocking over a couple of vending machines is not a sufficient contribution, it's not even a desired contribution. You made the choice to be here all by yourself. I told you to not to come; you did it anyway, so live with it." 

Scott turned his back on the blonde girl and stalked off. 

****** ****** ****** 

"You owe us Berserker." A woman's voice, roughened by the life she'd lived, stated flatly. 

"Callisto." Ray exclaimed in surprise as he spotted the Morlock's battle scarred leader standing in the shadows. "How are you guys dealing?" 

"Like we always have: On our own." Callisto replied defensively. 

Ray's eyes flickered as he hid frustration with Callisto's stubborn pride. "You're right, I owe you. Is there anything I could do to repay the dept?" 

"Come on." Callisto ordered. 

Ray followed her down into the tunnels. "Watch yourself." Callisto said. "The water's poisoned." 

Ray cringed back away from the murky goop flowing through the sewer. "We've got to tell someone." He said. 

"It doesn't hurt _them_, just us." Callisto stated flatly. "Do you think that's an accident?" 

Ray nodded. "I take it you've already got a plan?" 

"Trace it to its source. Deal with whatever we find there." Callisto replied vaguely. 

"The X-Men could help. This affects us too." Ray suggested. 

Callisto sniffed. "Upworlders, you're soft, want to appease the humans." 

"So why am I here?" Ray asked. 

"Torpid had the chicken pox. I need someone to watch her while we hunt." Callisto replied. 

"You want me to baby-sit?" Ray asked in disbelief. "Okay, fine. I'll take her up to the mansion…" 

"No, you'll watch her here." Callisto snapped. "She's one of us. I won't have you carting her off to be some Upworlder Uncle Tom." 

"Sure, fine." Ray sighed as he held up his hands in surrender. "Where's the squirt?" 


	2. Silent Jewel

**Silent Jewel** Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Marvel, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun. 

Thanks for the Feedback: twisted makeral, DemonRogue13, DoubleL27, crazyspaceystracey, Risty, raniatlw, Goofn1, Rags666 

Notes: I decided to go with two sequals because that way my timelines aren't linked. The two groups are fairly distinct, so I didn't want to end up in a situation where one group got neglected for multiple chapters because things were moving at a slower pace in their half of the story. 

Posting-wise I'm going to try to stick with my normal schedual of one chapter a week, alternating between the two stories.

Fred parked the jeep in front of a grocery store in a small town on the outskirts of LA. As the engine cut out Fred's attention was drawn toward an alley behind the store by the sound of angry shouts. 

"Damn mutie." That was one phrase Fred picked out clearly among the raised voices. 

Fred scowled and headed toward the mob. He shoved his way to it's focus, he paid about as much attention to the people in his way as a person walking through a grain field would pay to the plants. 

He found a being composed of a deep red crystal cowering in a doorway. Fred stood between the mob and the unusual mutant as he chewed on his lower lip and thought about how he should deal with this. 

"You don't like mutants?" He asked the crowd as he straightened to his full height. He knew he loomed over most normal humans. "Well I'm a mutant. What are you going to do about it?" 

Someone threw a bottle at Fred. He grinned at them. "Did I mention I'm invulnerable?" He said. "Bullets bounce off me, so do trucks… What are _you_ going to do?" 

"Monster!" Someone screamed. 

"Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me… Oh yeah, sticks and stones don't work either." 

Fred hefted a dumpster over his head and took a step toward the crowd. They screamed in terror and fled. Fred sighed in relief and set the dumpster down. "Hey, it's okay. You're safe now." Fred said as he crouched in front of the ruby being. Tentatively he reached out to pat a huddled shoulder. 

As she uncurled Fred had a moment to realize that the being was a girl before she threw herself into his arms and began sobbing. A startled Fred patted her hair, it felt like thin strands fishing-wire. Fred scooped her up and settled her in the crook of his arm. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll take you somewhere safe." Fred promised. 

He paused halfway between the jeep and the grocery store. Then, while still carrying the girl, he walked inside, grabbed a shopping cart and started collecting supplies. 

Fred received a number of stares and hostile glances but none of the other shoppers showed any interest in confronting the seven-foot plus bulky teen. 

At the cash register Fred had to shift the girl to his other arm to get to his pocket. Where he'd been holding her against him his overalls were cut to shreds. 

****** ****** ****** 

Tabby perched on one of wing of the futuristic, vertical take-off aircraft they'd found parked in the base's hanger. 

"I did more than rip-off vending machines while we were at the Board House." She declared. 

"Cable, are you sure you gave me the right specs?" Lance demanded as he slid out from beneath the craft. 

"Yes." Cable replied shortly. 

"Hey I'm talking here." Tabby protested. "Don't ignore me." 

"Maybe if you explained how this thing is supposed to work." Lance suggested. 

"Why don't you admit you're out of your depth and quit pestering me?" Cable replied. 

Lance kicked the consol. "Show me the damn specs again Short Circuit." 

Cable gave a long-suffering sigh and the requested specs appeared on the screen. 

"I did lots of stuff around the Boarding House." Tabby claimed. 

"Okay, it takes in water vapor from the air to supplement its 'fuel' tank, the hydrogen gets split off the oxygen… Somehow, that better not be where the problem is… The hydrogen is burned for fuel. Now that isn't so different from a combustion engine right?" Lance said to himself. "Hell, I wish I had Kitty here to talk with." 

"Listen to me!" Tabby yelled. 

Lance exhaled irritably. "What?" He demanded. 

"I was a useful member of the team at the Boarding House right?" Tabby asked. 

Lance snorted. "You marched in and took the best room for yourself. You didn't clean. You didn't cook. You blew holes in the wall. You stole my jeep. You didn't respect anyone's privacy. You tell me." 

"Well if I was so awful to live with why didn't you kick me out?" Tabby asked. 

"Did you ever ask our permission to move in with us in the first place?" Lance snapped. "Cable, do you have anything on how this part is supposed to work?" 

Tabby walked out, she was biting her lip and sniffling. 

****** ****** ****** 

Torpid stared up at Ray with huge, mournful, brown eyes as she scratched at the red speckles on her skin with over-sized, heavily gloved hands. 

Ray gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Squirt. There's not much I can do to help ya there." Ray patted the bench beside him. "How 'bout I read to you, take your mind off the itches." 

Torpid's breath escaped her in an unhappy huff. She dug a tattered book out of a recessed nitch in the wall then climbed up beside Ray and handed him her book. 

"Okay, 'Wizard of Oz' it is." Ray said as he ruffled her long sandy colored hair. 

Torpid curled up against Ray's shoulder. She absently scratched at her stomach. Ray wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held the book so she could see the pages. He traced his finger under the words as he read in hopes that it would help Torpid learn. If she'd ever spoken he would have tried to get her to read a little herself. 

For a few pages the solemn six-year-old watched the pages intently then she started squirming. Ray stopped reading and sat back. Torpid found a convenient corner and used it to try to get an itch between her shoulder blades. When that didn't work she gave Ray a pleading look then presented her back. 

"No, they'll scar if you scratch them." Ray said. Torpid blinked at him sadly. Her eyes teared up. "Oh geeze." Ray exclaimed. He picked her up. "You know what you need? A nice bath with lots of baking soda. It'll help the itches and I know just the place to find one." 

****** ****** ***** 

Logan watched the approaching cloud of dust through his binoculars. He started to relax when he recognized the jeep then he scowled as he saw a second body in the passenger seat. 

While he waited for them to arrive Forge wandered outside. He watched the jeep then glanced toward the tarp that camouflaged Scott's convertible and Logan's bike. "I should build a freight elevator to get the cars down into the hanger." 

"You got the energy conversion and air filtration systems fixed?" Logan asked. 

Forge sighed. "Cable explained what the energy conversion system is supposed to do. What I built will do the same thing. Cable doesn't like it because it doesn't work in the same way as the old one did." 

"That and the minor explosion you caused this morning." Logan said. 

"When I build things they work." Forge insisted. "That's my mutation." 

Logan waited. 

"Okay, sometimes I neglect details." Forge admitted. "I forgot to seal the chamber, dust diffracted the energy and boom. My bad. It'll work right this time. Get Lance to provide a little geological activity for it to convert and you'll see." 

"And the air filters?" Logan asked. 

Forge winced. "That's boring. Can't someone else do it?" 

Logan glowered at the teen. 

"Okay, I can't fix it." Forge admitted. "I can invent anything I think of. I intuit how to put things together to get a desired result. The part Cable says is broken is way integrated into the rest of the system. I could redesign the whole system from scratch but I can't repair that one component. It's someone else's design, I don't understand it." 

Logan nodded. "I'll go over it or drag Alvers away from his pet project." He said then asked. "Why'd you want to come out here if you don't understand other people's tech?" 

"To get new ideas." Forge replied promptly. "I used to read sci-fi for the same reason. I was trying to make a teleporter when I got stuck in the pocket-verse. Meeting Kurt was so cool 'cause he 'ports according to the same theory I was trying to make use of… Hey I bet I could make another pocket-verse with a reliable way to get in and out. We could use it as a garage." 

Logan watched Forge wander off already lost in his plans. A short while later Fred and his guest arrived. Logan stalked over to check out the new person while Fred was still unpacking groceries and getting the tarp over the jeep. "Who's yer friend?" Logan asked suspiciously. 

The girl cringed and hid behind Fred's bulk. He patted her on the shoulder. "Mr. Logan's nice, he just doesn't act like it." He assured her. "I found a mob chasing her." 

Logan sighed. "So what's yer name girl? And what's your story?" He said as he tried to minimize the growl in his voice. 

The girl stood there mute and plaintive looking. 

"I don't think she talks." Fred said. " 'Cause she hasn't said anything." 

"Can ya write?" Logan demanded. 

After a pause the girl nodded. She scratched out the word 'Penance' in the sand with a long, claw-like finger. 

"I guess it's as much of a name as 'Rogue'." Logan grunted. 

"If you're looking for refuge ya got it. If yer here to make trouble I'll find out." He flicked his claws out for a moment to emphasize his meaning then turned and walked off. "Introduce her to Cyke." He called to Fred over his shoulder. 

"He really is nice." Fred repeated as he finished hiding the jeep and gathered the groceries. Penance trailed after him as he headed down into the compound. 

Fred paused when he saw clouds of dust billowing out of an open door. Cautiously he peeked inside. Tabby was violently attacking the dirt with a broom and only managing to fill the air with dust. Her face was streaked with tears. 

"Tabby?" Fred asked. 

"You don't want me here, just leave me alone!" Tabby shouted. 

Fred waited for a few moments, when Tabby didn't immediately spill her guts he decided a more round about approach might work better. 

He continued on to the kitchen where he found Scott and Lance working on lunch. "Why's Tabby crying?" He asked. 

Both teens instantly looked guilty. 

"Hell." Lance swore then hurried past Fred and Penance. He only spared the girl a quick glance. 

"This is Penance." He heard Fred telling Scott as he left. "I found her in town, she doesn't talk…" 

****** ****** ****** 

"What have yah got there?" Rogue asked as Ray walked in with a little girl balanced on his hip. Rogue grinned at her. 

Torpid gave her a serious look then offered her a gloved hand. Rogue shook Torpid's hand as she gave Ray a searching look. 

"Torpid, meet Rogue. Her power paralyzes you for around half an hour if she touches you. She can't control it yet." Ray explained. 

"Oh sweetie." Rogue exclaimed as she took Torpid from Ray. 

"She's got the chicken pox too." Ray added. "I was thinking a baking soda bath." 

"Alright, yah talked me into it." Rogue said. "Come on sugah, Ah'll take good of yah." 

****** ****** ****** 

Lance reached over Tabby's shoulder and grabbed the broom handle, his hand closing over hers to still its movement. 

"Okay, you helped clean-up as much as anybody did. You helped us relocate the mold in the fridge to desks and lockers at school." He said. "And you, Todd and Quickie all volunteered to cook, Fred and I just decided it was better if you guys didn't… too many fires and Todd's patented bug-flavoring left something to be desired." 

"You're only saying that 'cause you feel bad about being mean." Tabby said with a sniffle. 

"Yeah," Lance admitted. "Come on Tabby you're like a kid sister: Just because you annoy me doesn't mean I don't like you. It doesn't matter if you're useful to have around or not." 

Tabby spun around to confront Lance. "So you think I'm worthless, but you like me anyways. Gee thanks." 

Lance shrugged. 

Tabby hit him. "Damn it Lance, I'm not useless!" She exclaimed. 

"Maybe it's time you proved it." Lance challenged. 

"Watch me." Tabby snapped. 

Lance bit back a grin as she stomped away. 

****** ****** ****** 

Callisto prowled through the tunnels. With her enhanced senses she could almost taste the miniscule traces of poison on the water vapor in the air. 

She paused as a new tributary pipe added its contribution to the main drainage stream. "This is it." She announced as she gestured for the Morlocks to head up to the surface. 

They emerged outside of a newly built Sports' Drink Factory. "Now our enemy has a name." Callisto said. "Let's see if we can make our feelings known." 

Cybelle smiled and laid her hands on the outer wall of the factory. It melted at her touch. 

****** ****** ****** 

Logan and Scott sat in the bases' central head quarters facing the computerized image of a grizzled, gray-haired soldier with a cybernetic arm. "I need to know everything about Apocalypse's recent activities." The computer insisted. 

"We came here because you said _you_ knew something about him." Scott replied with a frown. 

For a moment Cable and Scott glared at each other silently then Cable sighed. "I come from a future, not the one that will exist if Apocalypse succeeds." He said. "One day my world disappeared. In its place was a hell where survival was the only virtue. There were eight of us who remembered the world as it should have been. We dedicated our lives to learning what had gone wrong." 

"In my time a man named Rama-Tut wanted to be worshiped a god. He took some of our most advanced technology into the distant past where he named himself Pharaoh… until his rule was overthrown by En Sabah Nur; the first mutant. With the advanced technology he took from Rama-Tut Nur became Apocalypse. In time he decided to evolve the entire world's population, he was betrayed and sealed away by his priests." 

"The world we found ourselves living in began diverging from the world we'd known at the turn of the sixteenth century. Apocalypse escaped his entombment and put his plan into effect. Half the world's population died the rest were changed. With our technology at his disposal Apocalypse lived three hundred years. An average life in my world, more than long enough to irrevocably destroy civilization in the one he ruled." 

"It took us years to piece together what had happened and nearly a decade to recreate the ability to travel in time. We took a virtual armory back into the past with us; if there was one thing Apocalypse's world was good at it was creating weapons. We stopped him from being freed in the sixteenth century. We were going to go home, to see if we'd restored our world…" 

"Obviously we never made it." Cable finished. "I transferred my consciousness into the computer so I could survive. Since then I've watched and waited, guarding against Apocalypse's return. I have no other way left to protect my world, my future." 

"You never faced Apocalypse." Scott said. He sounded disappointed. "How was he stopped the first time?" 

"They caught him by surprise. He trusted them." Cable replied. 

"So you brought us here because you need us." Logan stated. 

"Did you have any idea of what you were facing?" Cable demanded. "We had plans if we failed to prevent Apocalypse's escape." 

"Like what?" Scott asked. 

"A power suppression field." Cable replied. "It still won't be easy, your own abilities will be stripped away as well and Nur was an accomplished warrior long before he gained the power of a god. It won't be easy, but you'll have a chance. If you faced him with his powers intact you would loose." 

"So how do we make this suppression field?" Scott asked. 

Cable shrugged. "That's the catch. We never got it to work. Your Forge is going to have to find out why it wouldn't function. The prototype is in room C-10." 

****** ****** ****** 

Guy Spears sat at his kitchen table, his head in his hands. "Why are they doing this to me?" He asked. "Equipment destroyed, my product contaminated, the damage to the building itself…" 

"What happened Uncle?" Neal asked. 

"Mutant terrorists, they're practically ruining my business. Why are they targeting me? I make a sports drink for God's sake." 

"I'm sorry Uncle Guy. It's probably because of me." Neal said. "They drove Greg crazy, killed Dom and that lawyer of their's has the courts acting like Duncan did something wrong by getting rid of a dangerous freak like Alvers. I'm the only one they haven't been able to get to and they're taking it out on my family." 

Spears nodded. "You're probably right. I don't approve of what you and your friends did. What the hell were you thinking opening fire in the middle of a school? But your hearts were in the right place. It's a disgrace the way they made Matthew's trial about exterminating that menace instead of dealing with the real people he endangered in the process. That's why I didn't turn you in when you came to me." 

"Can't you see Uncle? It's a war. Innocent people are going to get caught in the cross-fire if they insist on tolerating those monsters." Neal began. 

"Shut up while you're ahead." Spears ordered. "Your fellow students didn't ask to have mutants thrust on them." 

"There aren't any innocents around when they're hitting your factory." Neal said. "I've been talking with some people. They say they know how to deal with muties." 

****** ****** ****** 

Fred knocked tentatively on Penance's door then waited. He shifted from one foot to the other. He thought about leaving. 

Penance opened the door. She looked up at Fred questioningly. 

"Hi Penny, um Penance. I brought you… well with your mutation it's not like you're really naked." Fred blushed. He held out a New Recruit uniform. "I thought you might be more comfortable. It's made of really tough material. It probably won't cut. I borrowed it from Tabby, she doesn't mind… um here." 

Penance took the jumper from him. Fred wished he could read expressions on her sharp, angular face. He glanced over her shoulder and noticed the empty, unfriendly steel walls of her quarters. "Hey, there's this place near town. They sell these big rugs pretty cheap. Most everyone's gotten one or two to hang on their walls. It makes things cozier. I could take you if you want." 

Penance turned her back on him. 

"Oh, um, I guess you don't really want to go back to town after what happened?" Fred assumed. "I don't blame you. You could… well we could look at pictures on the computer. You could show me what you like then I could get it for you. Maybe not exactly the same, but I bet I could find something you'd like… well like better than bare walls anyway." 

Penance held up a finger indicating Fred should wait for a moment. She shut the door. When she came back out she was wearing the jumpsuit. Delicately she extended a hand to Fred. 

He took it without hesitation and led her confidently toward the base's computer center. 

****** ****** ****** 

Callisto and the other Morlocks withdrew into the sewers, once again leaving the Power 8 factory in ruins. 

"Scaleface, how bad is it?" Callisto asked. 

The Morlock had already shifted back to her more humanoid form to fit through the narrow manhole. "Just bruises." She replied. "My scales are as good as a bulletproof vest… Did you get a good look at the berets those guys were wearing?" 

Façade nodded as he stepped away from the wall, his skin naturally changing colors as he moved to camouflage him. "They had FoH patches, the Friends of Humanity. If there was any doubt about whether or not they're intentionally poisoning us it's been cleared up." 

"There was never any doubt." Lucid said. "The only question is how do we respond to them shooting at us." 

"It'll be a while before that bunch is picking up guns again." Cybelle said and a quiet chuckle passed around the group. 

"There will be more where those came from." Lucid pointed out. "They're a dime a dozen." 

"We'll be ready for them next time." Callisto said. "It's that simple. Upworlders are soft, but you didn't just expect them to lay down and die did you?" 


	3. Underground War

**Underground War** Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Marvel, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun. 

Thanks for the feedback: Risty, silver-seraph-life-of-la, crazyspaceystracey, raniatlw, DemonRogue13, Dusty, Goofn1 

"Hey guys you're just in time." Forge exclaimed, when Scott and Logan found him. "Behold, our new garage." He pushed a button on what looked like a garage door opener. A swirling vortex opened in the dessert. "I have one of these for everyone and there's a another opener on that post inside. I wouldn't want anyone getting trapped in there." 

"Good thought." Scott said. 

"And you're sure there's nothing living in this one?" Logan asked suspiciously. 

"It's just a pocket dimension." Forge said. "Like the one I was stuck in for thirty years. Trust me, there's nothing in there." 

"Ya better be right kid." Logan said. "Look, we've got a new project for you." 

"What?" Forge asked. 

"We want you to build something to block mutant powers." Scott said. 

"How?" Forge asked. "I mean that's a little vague. I need a theory before my power kicks in." 

"Talk to Cable." Scott said. "His team had a theory, but they couldn't make it work." 

"Oh, okay, no problem." Forge replied with a shrug. "By the way, why do you want something like that?" 

****** ****** ****** 

Lance glared at Logan and muttered curses under his breath as he flexed his fingers gingerly. 

"I told you you were going to hurt yourself punching like that." Logan replied unrepentantly. 

"You've got freakin' metal bones. Of course it hurts to hit you." Lance complained. 

"The problem is you don't know how to throw a punch, not my bones." Logan replied matter-of-a-factly. "Ya didn't get the scars on your hands from hitting me." 

"I know how to fight." Lance said sulkily. 

"You know how to brawl." Logan corrected. "And believe me, I know that's got it's charms… if you're me. You figure you've won a fight as long as ya dish out more hurt than ya take. Ain't that about right?" 

"What else would you call it?" Lance asked sarcastically. 

"Setting yourself up to loose the next fight." Logan replied blandly. "_You_ don't have a healing factor. Whatever damage you take you carry into your next fight. As humans measure things you're damn good at absorbing damage and going on fighting. No one's saying you aren't tough. But you try getting in a brawl with Sabretooth, me or anyone like us and you'll die. It's that simple." 

"So why do you know this stuff?" Lance asked. "Doesn't sound like you need it." 

For a moment Lance didn't think Logan was going to answer. He stared out across the sand. "You know what a berserker is, kid?" Logan asked. 

"A walking battery who gets bleach all over the bathroom every couple of weeks?" Lance asked facetiously. 

Logan frowned at him. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Lance amended. 

"You can't fight smart if you can't stay in control. I can walk into machine gun fire, kill the gunner with my bare hands and not even have a scar twenty-four hours later. It doesn't mean I like it when a fight gets out of hand and I find myself standing over a pile of corpses wondering who they were. I learned this stuff to keep control. From what I've seen a little disciple wouldn't hurt you either." 

Lance rolled his eyes. 

"Look Rocky, you keep going the way you have been and you're not going to live very long. I could point out what it'll do to the Half-pint and your friends when you die but you're smart enough to know when you're risking your life. You make choices about when you think something's worth dying for. I can respect that, but I want to make sure you've got as many other options as possible." 

Logan paused for a moment. "From what I've seen you're pretty quick to decide you have to let yourself get killed to protect your friends. You don't bother putting much effort into keeping your own life when you think you're going lose something you value. Makes me wonder if you're being a teenager and think you can't die or if you just don't give a damn." 

"I didn't have another way!" Lance shouted. "Ask Scott, the rescue mission would have failed without me." 

"And with Nicky?" Logan asked. "I told you we'd get him back. I told you to trust us. Instead you ran off and tried to take care of it on your own; and you paid for that choice didn't you? Thing is, so did the rest of us. I get why you had to do it: Nicky's family, he's a helpless kid who only got into that mess 'cause he knew you and he thinks the world of you. What I don't get is why the hell didn't you show me that note?" 

Lance shrugged. He honestly didn't know why he hadn't asked Logan or Kitty for help. He'd just known it was his fault Nicky had been put in danger. His family was being hurt just because they'd tried to make a place for him. He'd needed to make things right; beyond that he really hadn't though much at all. 

"I don't have a problem with there being things you're willing to die for." Logan said. "But you don't have to be stupid about it. You need to know how to keep your head clear. That way you'll know better than to throw your life at a problem because you got excited and ran off half-cocked." 

Lance grimaced. "I wasn't trying to get myself killed." He argued. "If I'd had my powers…" 

"It ain't much of a trap if the other guy hasn't thought of way to deal with abilities he knows you've got." Logan pointed out dryly. "Okay, enough talking. Let's get back to work. This time try listening to me." 

****** ****** ***** 

Callisto leaned up against a tree across the road from the mansion and waited. She knew the camera over the gate was taking her image inside. She could picture the flow of gossip inside those high, pristine walls. 

It took about half an hour for Ray to make his appearance. "I told you not to bring her here." Callisto said. 

"Torpid was miserable, what was I supposed to do?" Ray demanded. "Watch her suffer?" 

"She doesn't belong here." Callisto stated. 

"If you think it's so awful up here then why'd you send me to Xavier?" Ray asked. 

Callisto glanced away. "It was different for you." She said. "You must have wondered why we took you in. During the years you were with us we killed more than one up-worlder who found their way into our tunnels. You knew we didn't waste sympathy or compassion on normals." 

Ray waited. 

"Caliban knew you'd be a mutant before he laid eyes on you for the first time. We thought you'd be one of us." Callisto shrugged. "Then your powers came and you were could still pass." 

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ray demanded. "I mean look in the mirror Callisto, loosing an eye doesn't exactly mark you as a mutant." 

"I made my choice." Callisto snapped. "I knew what I turned my back on and I am content with it. You would have gotten curious one day. You would have hated us if we'd decided for you. I sent you here so that if you did come back it would be your choice." 

"Why not let Torpid see the options too?" Ray asked. "We're not even trying to hide what we are anymore. She won't face any worse of a stigma than the rest of us do." 

"How naive." Callisto commented. "Of course it's worse if you don't match their standard of beauty. More than that Torpid's been hurt enough. How can I keep her safe if I let her go? I promised that no one would ever hurt her again." 

"Could you at least trust me to look after her while she's sick?" Ray sighed. "I promise no one will hurt her and she'll be more comfortable at the Institute." 

"I do trust you, Berserker." Callisto apologized reluctantly. "But I gave up something precious to rescue Torpid; I can't loose her too. I'll come for her when the tunnels are safe again." 

****** ****** ****** 

Lance checked the ventilation system component against the diagram Cable had provided him with one last time and decided it was probably fixed. 

Reluctantly he looked at the cramped access tunnel and sighed. It wasn't that he had a problem with small spaces; it was just working in small spaces that he didn't like. While he wasn't quite as tall as Scott he was more than tall enough to bang his head against any low hanging pipes. The tunnel was narrow too, reaching tools and finding the room to work was just going to be a pain. He wondered what sort of sadist had designed the lay out. 

"Hey, what are ya doing? Can I help?" Tabby asked as she wandered down the hall popping bubblegum. 

Lance glanced at the five foot three inch girl and grinned. "Actually I think you can." He said. "All you have to do is reinstall this in the vent system." He held up the filtration component he'd been working on. 

Tabby stared at it dubiously. "What am I supposed to do with that?" She asked. 

It's no big deal. I'll talk you through the whole thing." Lance promised. He handed her his tool kit and the component then pushed her toward the cramped hatchway. 

"Okay, okay. I'm going." Tabby said. 

Once she was inside Lance asked. "Do you see the open panel?" 

"Sure." 

"Now what you have to do is…" 

Several hours later Lance sat in the corridor outside of the hatch cradling his head in his hands as if he had a headache. 

"What tool do I need again?" Tabby called. 

"Needlenose pliers." Lance signed with frustration. 

"What are those?" 

Kitty would have know what he meant Lance thought. Kitty wouldn't have cross-threaded the screws. Kitty would have asked interesting questions that were a challenge to answer and showed she'd been listening to him. Kitty would have been fun to work with, _especially_ in tight quarters. "Needlenose pliers." Lance reiterated. "Pliers with a long narrow nose. Mine have blue paint on the handles." 

"Okay, I think I found them. What do I do with them?" 

"Remember the wire?" Lance asked as he resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. "The one you couldn't get a hold of? Use the pliers to grab the end of the wire and pull it out enough for you to reach it… Gently! You don't want to yank it out." 

"Um Lance, is it bad if I dropped my gum inside the filter thingy?" Tabby asked. 

"Tabby, why don't you go help Logan or Forge or someone, anyone else?" Lance asked. 

****** ****** ****** 

Jensen glanced around his new office wondering if he should thank Ms. Cooper for engineering his promotion or curse her for formalizing the fact he was stuck with responsibility for all mutant related problems. 

A rookie officer knocked politely on his open door. "Sir, they're at it again down at the Power 8 factory. They seem to be in a real stand off this time." 

"Good, maybe that will keep them there long enough for us to make some arrests." Jensen growled. "We've got to break this cycle. We can't hold the FoH morons since Spears claims he hired those thugs as guards. We can't catch the mutants, which means we can't get any sort of a story from them and I don't buy the FoH's 'They're mutants, what do you expect' bullshit. I want to know what the hell is going on here!" 

****** ****** ****** 

"Come on Scott, we've been cooped up here forever." Tabby whined. "We're only a hundred miles or so from LA. We deserve a little fun." 

Scott shook his head. "It's not a good idea." 

"Lance hasn't even been out to the grocery store." Tabby pointed out. "It's not fair." 

"Tabby," Scott wavered. "Lance is too identifiable. The trial, the Shadow King's mark…" 

"So you're going to keep him locked up here forever?" Tabby asked. "Let me try something." 

****** ****** ****** 

Torpid tugged on Ray's hand. The always-solemn little girl looked like she was on the verge of tears. Ray let her lead him to the TV room where Evan was staring fixedly at the news; the points of a few bones poking through his skin betrayed his agitation. 

"What's happening?" Ray asked. 

"The police got in the middle of some sort of show-down between the FoH and a group of mutants; I think it's those guys who helped you hide the other new recruits after the Sentinel attack." Evan said. 

Ray glanced at Torpid. "Is it the Morlocks?" He asked and she nodded. 

The cops are letting the FoH go!" Evan continued angrily. "Some sort of crap about the mutants trespassing." 

Ray watched the broadcast for a few minutes before he realized that the Morlock had been well and truly cornered. "We've got to help!" He exclaimed. 

Evan took in Ray's determined expression then nodded. "Let's suit up and go." He said. 

"Actually I think it would probably be better if we weren't wearing any 'X's" Ray suggested. 

Evan glanced back at the police cars all over the TV. "I see you're point." He said. 

"Torpid, you stay here." Ray told the little girl as he knelt down to make eye contact. "I'll get them back safe. I promise." 

****** ****** ****** 

Lance watched Tabby warily "What are you doing with those?" He demanded with a gesture toward the scissors in her hand. 

"Don't you want to get out of here for a little bit?" She cajoled. 

"Yeah, but…" 

"A little hair cut…" 

Lance looked distinctly unhappy at the suggestion. "Like that's going to disguise me." 

"A little make-up." 

"No! Absolutely not." 

"It's just a disguise. Geeze Lance, it's not going to hurt you." Tabby exclaimed. "Scott won't go soft unless you're involved. You came awful close to dying, now you get to milk that." 

"Tabby you're twisted." Lance said. 

"It's a gift." Tabby replied with a shrug. "Until Scott gets used to the idea that you're not going to croak on him you're our key out of here. I'm not going to let you screw it up because of some silly hang up about make-up." 

****** ****** ****** 

Quietly Evan and Ray worked their way through the crowd of gawkers outside of the factory. In their street clothes the two boys didn't draw attention much attention. 

"So what now?" Evan hissed when they found themselves confronted with a police barricade. 

Ray glanced around. The rest of the crowd appeared content to observe from what the police had deemed to be a safe distance. That being the case the cops' attention was focused almost solely on the building in front of them. Ray shrugged and stepped through the line of yellow sawhorses. Evan followed him into the no man's land separating the crowds from the line of police cars and the men crouched behind them pointing guns at the factory. According to the reporters the police had people covering exits into the sewers as well. Their last few clashes with the Morlocks had taught them to guard against the reclusive mutants' preferred method of escape. 

A few murmurs from the crowd indicated that Ray and Evan's actions hadn't gone completely unnoticed but the gawkers were there for entertainment and the extended standoff was loosing its charm. Whatever the two teenage boys were up to, the crowd was happy to stand by and watch the fireworks rather than trying dissuading them. 

Ray cracked his knuckles as he called on his powers. "I'll clear a path and provide a distraction. Make sure the Morlocks take advantage of it." He said. Berserker selected two abandoned cars a few feet behind the line of police cars and heavily armed officers then sent bolts of electricity into the gas tanks. Both cars went up with impressive booms. Next Berserker directed his power to seek out the metal in the officer's guns and uniforms, electrifying them. "This won't last long." He warned as Spyke darted through the police lines. 

The police reformed to counter the attack from the rear. In the process they pulled back from several of the cruisers used in their barricade. Berserker lit those cars up as soon as the people were clear. Like dominos the police backed away from the latest explosion and gave Berserker two more inanimate targets for his abilities even as the charge on the police's guns began to fade. Berserker's strength lay in quick, violent bursts of power; forcing electricity to stay in one place was much harder. By it's very nature electricity was dynamic and fluid, water was staid and stodgy by comparison. 

Ray gritted his teeth, keeping this confrontation non-lethal was going to be a pain in the butt, he thought. 

****** ****** ****** 

Having his hair brushing against the tops of his ears made them itch Lance concluded sulkily. He liked having his bangs in his eyes. Tabby didn't have to cut it so short. And make-up, he wrinkled his nose. It was a pain. He didn't trust Tabby that close to his eye with a pencil. He didn't like her drawing on his face. 

"Will you stop squirming?" Tabby ordered. 

"What are you doing to me?" Lance demanded. 

Tabby held up her pencil for him to see. "Cover-up pencil." She explained. "I use it to lighten up the tattoo then I find some foundation that matches your skin tone to make it blend in." 

Lance looked at Tabby's garish eye shadow and winced. Tabby rolled her eyes. "This is for people to look at. I also know how to hide a zit." 

"Why'd I agree to this?" Lance asked. 

"Because you're going stir crazy just like the rest of us." Tabby said. 

"I'm not." Lance argued. "I like staying out here, the flying car is all the entertainment I need. We have to drag Forge way from his projects to get him to eat. Scott doesn't doesn't like having fun…" 

"Fred wants to get Penance a present." Tabby interjected. "I think he really likes her." 

Lance sighed. Tabby took it as a sign of capitulation. 

****** ****** ****** 

"I'm here to help!" Spyke yelled as he ran through the factory doors. The bones plates growing from his shoulders clearly displayed his mutation. 

Scowling Callisto stepped out from the wall she'd taken cover behind. "What sort of help?" 

"We're clearing a retreat." Spyke told her as he gestured in the direction from which he'd come. A piece of shrapnel flew through the open door and sliced through his outstretched hand. Pain triggered Spyke's fight or flight reflexes; bone spears erupted from his body. 

Callisto evaded the spikes with a dancer's grace and an uncanny instinct for where they would fly. The storage tanks didn't fair so well. Spyke's bone-projectiles tore through the huge plastic vessels like they were tissue paper. Spouts of Power 8 gushed out of the holes. 

The Morlocks dove for cover in the labyrinth of equipment used to make the drink. 

Spyke was doused with gallons of the stuff. Evan had a moment to sputter and be annoyed at this turn of events then he doubled over to clutch his gut. Inside his body he felt his bones growing and shifting with an unprecedented violence. He screamed in agony as they erupted from his flesh to form a heavy carapace. The bones that ripped free of his skeleton were larger than any he'd created before. The friction as they forced their way through the carapace set them on fire as they flew from him. The strain on his system dropped Evan in his tracks a moment later. 

"Hell!" Callisto swore as the factory began to burn. "Everyone out. Scatter. We'll meet below." She ordered as she grabbed Evan and shoved him toward Scaleface. 

The woman shifted to her large, lizard form and easily scooped the teen up on her way out. 

Berserker sagged with relief as the Morlocks burst out of the factory. The police were quickly regaining the advantage after his surprise attack. One enterprising officer had found a pair of rubber glove somewhere and had reclaimed his weapon. Ray didn't know how long he could have held that one off without electrocuting the man. 

Berserker counted to ten after the last Morlock vanished into the alleys or over the roofs then made his own break for safety. He stampeded the crowd with a burst of electricity then lost himself in the chaos. Eight blocks from the factory he flipped up a manhole cover and vanished into the sewers. 


	4. Earth Child

**Earth Child** Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Marvel, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun. 

Thanks for the feedback: Risty, crazyspaceystracey, Raniatlw, DemonRogue13, Obsidian, Goofn1

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay, I've been busy reformatting my computer. Spyware is as bad as a virus, I've got so many pop-ups that my computer crashes every five minutes. 

Leathery, bat-like ears flicked back and forth scanning the alley for movement as the girl dug through a dumpster in search of the food smell that had drawn her here. 

Her hair was a long tangled main of gold that blended into the short, fine fur covering her face and arms. As she went up on tiptoes to peer into the dumpster the bottoms of her bare, heavily callused feet became visible. She snatched up a greasy bag then wandered off munching on the french-fries she'd discovered. 

Her attention was drawn to familiar voices coming from a second story window. With a gravity-defying leap she came to perch on the windowsill. She spent a few moments shifting around, trying to find the best view of the television playing inside the apartment. 

She'd missed and worried about the people in the box ever since she'd had to run away; they'd been her only company so much of the time. She'd loved going outside but Mommy and Daddy said she couldn't let anyone see her. She had to hide inside, alone. 

Mommy and Daddy played with her as much as they could but they were always going away because of jobs. She didn't like jobs. But that was the way of things, year in and year out. 

Then everything changed. She saw some people in the box fighting a giant robot and everyone got really, really mad. She didn't know why those people had upset everyone so much. There'd always been box-people with powers no one else had. People like her, who had adventures instead of going to school… only she didn't get to have adventures or go to school. Still she'd always felt a bond with the box-people who were like her. 

Her family's neighbors acted like the box-people were something new. They broke down the door. She'd heard them yelling at Daddy; ordering him to give them the 'mutant'. She heard shots and Mommy told her to fly away. She'd been hiding and running ever since. 

One of the people inside the room saw her sitting in the window and screamed in terror. She leapt into the sky, touched the natural forces that flowed through the world and gravity released her to soared over the rooftops. 

She allowed the laws of nature to reassert their hold on her and returned to the earth several blocks away and returned to wandering. 

A little group of people caught her attention. 

"Bye guys. I'm going shopping." The girl was bright and shiny on the surface, like a bauble, underneath there was something bleak about her. 

"Tabby don't go running off. I don't want you getting in trouble." That one was a smooth running river, wearing away all resistance as he sought his path. He was connected to and shielded by someone else. 

"You let Fred go off by himself." Tabby complained. 

"Fred's got some sense." 

"Humph!" 

The final member of the trio captured the observer's attention to her eyes he was one with earth beneath his feet. She hadn't spoken to him yet but she already knew she liked him. The earth had always been a friend to her and he was part of it. He was like her. Connected like her. Connected to her. She wasn't alone anymore. 

She glanced at his feet and wondered how he could stand to wear shoes. Personally she couldn't stand them; they separated her from the earth besides they pinched her toes. 

When the trio moved on she followed them in the shadows. For most of the evening she tagged along, silent and unnoticed. She followed them as they wandered through shops and a street market. She followed as they were joined by another teen; one who was hopeful and nervous over a solid and trusting nature. She almost lost them in an arcade. Loud noises, flashing lights, too many people; they forced her further from the object of her fascination. 

They were already in a car driving away when she spotted them again. She told the earth to release her and leapt into the air to chase after them. 

They drove out into the desert then disappeared into the ground and left her alone again; trapped outside of a locked door. 

"Damn, I left the DVD in the jeep." Scott exclaimed. "I'll be right back." 

He turned and jogged back toward the elevator. When he opened the outer door something pushed past him. 

"Guys, incoming!" He yelled as the girl punched through the floor of the elevator and leapt into the shaft. 

"I don't think she's hostile." Fred called back a few moments later. There was a hint of repressed laughter in his voice. There was nothing repressed about Tabby's giggles. 

Carefully avoiding the hole in the elevator floor Scott rode it back to the base proper. 

Lance stood backed up against the far wall, arms held out away from him in an attempt not to do anything that might be interpreted as encouraging. The girl was happily rubbing her temple against Lance's cheek as she clung to him. "I've never seen her before." Lance announced defensively. "I don't even know who she is." 

"I'm Megan." The girl replied. 

Scott almost laughed at her innocent answer. "How'd you find us?" He asked. 

"I followed you. I saw box-people like me before but never here-people; people who could talk to me, who were like me. And you're all nice. I like you, 'specially you." Megan smiled brilliantly at Lance. He blinked in surprise; she'd changed. His first impression of her had been golden fur and huge leathery ears, now she reminded him of Kitty. Her ears were still pointed but not so noticeable, almost elven and all but lost in waves of suddenly brown hair. The fur was gone and even the shape of her face seemed to reflect Kitty's. 

Lance tripped over his own feet as he tried to slide away from her. Megan's eyes filled with hurt and alarm. "I'm sorry." She squeaked. 

"You're a mutant?" Scott asked. 

Tabby muttered something about stating the obvious. 

Megan shrugged. 

"You said you were like us." 

"Uh-huh." 

"Especially like Lance?" 

"Lance." Megan repeated with a silly grin as she committed the name to memory. 

Lance groaned. 

"How are you like Lance?" Scott encouraged. 

"Part of the world." Megan stared curiously at Lance. "Why are you only ground tied? No air ties." 

"I only make earthquakes. What do you do?" Lance asked as he moved further away from her. 

"Fly! I tell the ground to let me go and it does." 

"You're pretty strong too." Fred said gesturing to the elevator. 

"And you shape-shift." Lance added with some irritation. She wasn't his Kitty. He didn't like her trying to manipulate him by taking her form. 

Megan stared at him in hurt confusion. 

"You didn't look like that when you came in here." Lance snapped. 

Megan wilted at his harsh tone. "I did something wrong. I'm bad." She said as she reverted to her earlier form. Tears welled up in her eyes. 

"You're not bad." Lance sighed hopelessly at the sight of her misery. He winced when she changed back to her Kitty-look. "Could you just please not look like my girlfriend?" 

Megan stared at him uncomprehendingly. Lance's head thudded against the wall as he let it drop back in defeat. 

"Hey what happened to the elevator?" Logan yelled. 

"We found a new mutant," Scott explained. 

"Thanks Caliban," Ray said as the hulking gray skinned mutant led him to the Morlock's current camp. 

"You are welcome." Caliban said in his slow, deliberate way. 

"Are they still hunting us?" Calisto demanded. 

"Yes." Caliban reported. 

"The cops are embarrassed." Ray elaborated. "We showed them up on the evening news. Now they have to do something. They're systematically searching the sewers; I've been dodging them for hours. Is Daniels with you guys?" 

"Back there." Calisto said. She pointed toward a subsidiary tunnel. 

"Thanks." Ray said. He turned and shuffled in the direction indicated. The young X-Man frowned in confusion as he stared down at his teammate. The flickering torchlight illuminated a figure that barely looked human. "Cal, what the fuck is wrong with Daniels?" Ray demanded as he glared at her over his shoulder. 

"The humans' poison. He's lucky to be alive." Calisto replied. 

Evan! Ray!

Ray winced at the mental yell. "Jean?" He asked. 

Ray, I saw the news.Jean continued at a more normal volume. 

"If you're going to scold me save your breath." Ray said. 

He received the mental image of an irate scowl. I've already contacted Scott. You two are in way too much trouble; you can't stay here want more. I half-way think you did this on purpose because Scott didn't let you go with him.

"I'm not going anywhere without the Morlocks." Ray said. "They're in more trouble than Daniels and I are." 

I won't argue with you about that. I've already emailed Gambit. He'll guide you to Scott's new base.

"We're not going anywhere." Calisto stated despite having heard only Ray's half of the conversation. 

"You're going to stay here and be hunted like animals?" Ray demanded angrily. 

"What other choice is there?" Calisto demanded. 

"The same one you've already made." Ray replied. "We take ourselves out of their world and make our own. These tunnels don't have to be your last refuge." 

"I'll discuss it with the others." Calisto replied. "You'll get a chance to present your case but I won't leave any of my people behind." 

"Jean, could you get someone from the Institute to bring Torpid here?" Ray asked as he met Calisto's eyes. 

I'll have someone meet you with her when you're ready to leave. It'll be at least a week before Gambit can get here. If you can't talk them into leaving I'll try.

Tabby watched with fascination as Scott and Logan interrogated their latest stray. 

When Megan focused on Scott her face became more oval and her hair took on a bright red color. When she focused on Logan her hair turned dark and her features gained an oriental cast. 

Tabby grinned. "Megan looked like Kitty for Lance, Jean for Scott and Logan gets letters from Japan every now and then…" She thought then exclaimed. "Oh my gosh! You're a walking crush detector! Megan go talk to Forge." 

"Huh?" Forge said. Tabby grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over to where Megan sat. 

"Talk to her!" Tabby ordered. 

"Um hi." Forge stammered. 

"Hi." Megan answered brightly. 

"You've gotta do better than that." Tabby prompted. 

"So, um, Megan, what do you like doing?" Forge asked. 

"I like going to the park on bright moonlit nights. I like when my Mom and Dad come home. I like watching the people in the box." As Megan spoke to Forge her hair turned a pale blonde, a metallic sparkle appeared at her temple. 

"You've got a thing for 7 of 9." Tabby squealed. 

Forge glanced at the floor. "She's hot, okay? Not to mention part machine." 

"Megan, it would have been so fun to have you around the Mansion." Tabby said. 

"Why?" Megan asked curiously. 

Tabby just laughed. 

Megan stared at her, her hair and skin darkened. 

"Tabby is there something you haven't told us about you and Amara?" Forge asked. 

"Geeze, we're just friends." 

"Tabby, you're the one who called her a crush detector." Fred said. 

"Okay, so I was wrong." 

"I'm always a girl." Megan offered. 

"That's interesting." Scott said. "Do you know what color your eyes are?" 

"Green, Mom always said I had pretty green eyes." 

"And you're hair?" 

"Whatever it wants to be. Sometimes it's fur, especially when I'm cold or when people are mad at me." 

"So you don't control your shape-shifting." Scott concluded. "I'll tell Lance you weren't purposefully looking like Kitty and that he shouldn't get upset." 

"Thank you." Megan replied with a happy smile. "I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I like Lance." 

"Remy, y're deeply stupid. Y' know dat don' y'?" Gambit asked himself as he stood across the street from Wanda's home. "Mon cherie already hates your guts an' for good reason. Actin' like some sort of stalker ain't likely to win points." 

Gambit sighed and shook his head. The fact remained: He wanted to see Wanda. He was grateful for the updates in Silver's emails about his sister but it wasn't the same as seeing her alive and well. 

Gambit surrendered to his impulses and walked up to her door. The lights had been out for two hours; he trusted that everyone within was asleep. Gambit finessed the lock and deadbolt in a matter of heartbeats then walked inside as if he belonged. 

He glanced around the cozy front room with curiosity then headed upstairs. Wanda's room was predominately a child's. Remy guessed that the Maximoffs had left it untouched after Magneto locked Wanda away. There were a few recent additions that reflected Wanda's teenage-self but the ghost of the little girl she'd been still held sway here. 

Wanda slept curled around a pillow, her lips slightly parted, her face open and vulnerable. Remy's expression softened. He moved across the room as if dealing with the most sensitive of motion detectors then reached out to brush her bangs away from her forehead. Of it's own volition his hand slipped down to cup her cheek. Still fast asleep, Wanda turned into his touch with a soft sigh. 

"I love y' cherie." Remy whispered to the sleeping girl. "Dat's de simple truth. I hope y' find it in your heart to forgive me someday." 

Reluctantly Remy stepped back then crept back through the sleeping household. He locked the door behind him then walked to a payphone several blocks away. 

"M'selle Grey, y' needed to talk to me?" Gambit said. 

"Where's Lance?" Megan asked as she poked her head into the kitchen on the third morning after her arrival. 

Everyone at the table bit back laughter. Megan's determined, naïve pursuit of Lance and his frustrated attempts to gently discourage her attention were quickly becoming the primary source of entertainment for the rest of the group. 

"I think he's hiding in the garage." Forge volunteered. 

Megan smiled thankfully. She basked in the warm amusement filling the room although she didn't understand its source. "I'll tell him hi for you." She said. 

"Oh you don't have to do that." Tabby said with a negligent wave. "I'm sure you've got much more important things to discuss." 

The teenager in Scott dearly wanted to go along with this but the team-leader demanded that he say something. "Megan, I know you don't consciously control your form, but try to stay in your neutral state okay?" He suggested. 

Megan tilted her head to the side and peered at him like an overly serious child. Scott sighed; the simple act of listening to him had caused red highlights to appear in Megan's golden hair and had turned her heart-shaped face more oval. 

"Just try, please." Scott repeated as Megan turned to leave. 

"Should I go faster?" Pietro asked as he twisted to share a grin with the little girl riding piggyback. 

Torpid giggled. She was wrapped in an outsized raincoat both to protect Pietro from an accidental touch and to shield her from the winds created by his passage. 

Pietro veered suddenly, he darted up the side of a building and reached the second story before gravity started pulling at him. Torpid shrieked as if on a roller coaster. On his own, at full speed, Pietro could have gone much higher but when his only goal had been the amusement of his small passenger two stories was plenty. When his feet were back on solid ground he executed a Viennese Waltz turn, three hundred and sixty degrees in six precise steps, and was rewarded with a breathless, delighted giggle. 

A few minutes later they arrived at the meeting point. "We're the first ones here. Wow, imagine that." Pietro said with a laugh. He knelt down and let Torpid slide to the ground. Impulsively she threw her arms around Pietro's neck. For a moment she hugged him tightly when she stepped back Pietro was blushing. "Glad you enjoyed the ride." He said. "So I bet you'll be happy to see your friends again, huh?" 

Torpid nodded and beamed. 

"The mansion's nice but it's no substitute for friends… speaking of friends, when you get where you're going there's a couple of mine I want you to annoy for me: Lance and Fred. Fred's the biggest guy there and Lance, well you can recognize him cause he'll talk a lot about Kitty." Pietro said. "I'm sure Tabby's keeping them on their toes but you'll pester them just for me won't you? I'd never tell them, but you know I really miss those two." 

Torpid climbed up on a park bench, crossed her legs Indian-style and peered at Pietro with her best 'I'm listening' expression. 

"Rogue wants to go, well maybe less now when she's spending so much time helping with the newbies and developing her own X-Team. Sure she inherited the original X-Men when Scott left and Jean was going to leave for college but that was different; Scott already had everyone trained to work together. The new team is hers." 

Pietro paused. He plopped down on the bench beside Torpid. Her silence encouraged him to fill it with whatever was on his mind. "Rogue complains about every flaw in their performance but I can hear how important it is to her in her voice. Leading a combat team suits her. Me, I'm more of a lone operative type and I really do like college. It took signing up for thirty credits but I'm not bored anymore… I know this is going to sound totally weird, but I hope I can graduate before Rogue starts feeling claustrophobic at Xavier's. See what I mean about weird: me worried about not having enough time. But Rogue belongs out there with Cyke and the others, doing what she thinks is right and not having to pay attention to what the morons think. I'm thick skinned enough to stick it out here and make them except me, but I'm going with her when the time comes. I'm not putting myself through this long distance relationship crap Lance and Kitty are suffering." 

Pietro glanced at Torpid then blushed and forced a laugh. "Gah, listen to me ramble. Geeze, the next thing you know I'll develop megalomaniac tendencies and start wearing a bucket on my head… Not that I ever listened to Dad when he got on his soapbox and you're probably not listening to me blabber about my love life either. Hey, I hear an engine, those slow pokes are finally here." 

Pietro darted away to see who was coming. After assuring himself that the approaching van was full of the mutants he was waiting for he moved on to play chicken with Gambit's motorcycle. 

With a quick flick of his wrist the auburn-haired Cajun tossed a lightly charged card in Quicksilver's path then stood his bike on its rear wheel for a hairpin turn as the speed demon darted out of the path of the explosion. Gambit cut off Quicksilver's retreat, wrapped an arm around the younger mutant's waist and hauled him on to the bike. "Y're fast Mon 'Silver but predictable." Gambit tsked. 

"I'll show you predictable." Quicksilver exclaimed as he grabbed one of the breaks on the bike. While Gambit fought to keep the bike under control Quicksilver slipped free. 

Pietro stuck his tongue out at Gambit as the mutant thief brought his bike to a stop. "Y're insane, y' know dat don' y'?" Remy asked with a shake of his head. 

Pietro grinned. "Hey Remy. Stole anything interesting lately?" 

"Jus' money." Gambit replied. "I'd get more entertainment from a video game dan de FOH's security system. Still de idea of dem unknowingly contributin' to Cyke's cause was too enticing to pass up." 

Pietro grinned appreciatively. 

"Come on kid, let's see what de other are up to." Remy said with a nod toward the rest stop. 

They found the Morlocks fussing over Torpid. 

"Y' counting her toes to make sure de X-Men haven' taken dem?" Remy asked Callisto sarcastically. He softened the comment with a wry grin. 

Callisto frowned at him. 

"Alright mes braves dere's no reason to be standing 'round out here waitin' for de cops to show." Gambit announced. "Lets get dis show on de road. 'Silver, it was good seein' y' again."


	5. Training

**Training**

Disclaimer: Characters and setting are the property of Marvel, I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.

Notes: Sorry about the long delay. Work and other aspects of my life turned very hectic then it took me a while before I was in pratice enough to write stuff I wanted to post. 

Thanks for the feedback: Raniatlw, Risty, DemonRogue13, dead caffeine junkie, DoubleL27, crazyspaceystracey, pixie stix addict, PAD, Obsidian, Riderazzo, Little Blue Dragon, The Son of Logan and Ororo, Edele Heerseres, soulstress, Mirror Mirror, Goofn1

* * *

Megan crouched on top of the flying car's stubby wing. Oblivious to her presence Lance worked beneath the car. Armed with a new theory on why it didn't work, Lance was happily absorbed in what he was doing. Megan drank in the relaxed emotional aura filling the hanger. Lance reached blindly for one of his tools. Megan used a toe to nudge it toward his groping hand. 

A few moments later both elemental mutants sensed two other beings approaching. Lance felt Fred's heavy steps accompanied by Penance's skittering, hesitant tread as they sent vibrations through the earth. Megan sensed their weight pressing against the planet and their emotions filling the air currents around them. 

As Lance slid out from beneath the air-car and Megan dashed into the indeterminate zone at the edge of Forge's pocket dimension. Her steps blended so well with the earth's natural vibrations that Lance didn't sense her. Her form was quickly lost in the distortion of reality stretched to the breaking point. Megan didn't want Lance to know she was there; his peaceful moods never survived her presence. 

"Hey." Lance said as he offered Fred and Penance a wave. "Something going on?" 

"Jean just called Scott." Fred said with a tap on the side of his head to indicate which 'line' the red-haired telepath had used. 

"Did he say something embarrassing?" Lance asked hopefully. In his opinion it was definitely someone else's turn to be the primary source of amusement on the base. Several weeks earlier Jean had accidentally pulled Scott into what sounded like a _very_ interesting dream. Scott had been in the middle of conducting their daily 'what needs fixing most' meeting. It had been days before their fearless leader stopped blushing. Lance thought a repeat performance might be just the thing to distract everyone from his aspiring groupie. 

"Naw, just business." Fred replied. "I guess Evan and Ray got in some sort of mess. They're coming out here with the Morlocks. I came out to see if you wanted to join the cleaning party. We're going to have to dig out another whole wing." 

Lance made a face. "We've left the other corridors alone because the sand was so hard packed." 

"We were sort of hoping you'd, ya'know, shake things loose." Fred suggested. "Besides with more people coming it wouldn't hurt to have more energy stored up." 

"Yeah, yeah, use me for my powers." Lance laughed. "The car'll wait. It's not like I want to _fly_ in it, there's just some cool engineering behind it." 

At the edge of Forge's pocket dimension Megan was feeling queasy. To her eyes the pocket dimension was like a hollow in a crumpled up ball of newspaper. At the edge of the dimension Megan was keenly aware that it was forced in between the cracks in reality. She felt other realities pressing in on them. It was like the natural flow of energy in dozens of worlds had been twisted aside to make room for this space. Megan didn't like it. She reached out with her powers and nudged the lines of force into a more normal alignment as she smoothed the energy between realities. 

A few minutes after the other three had left Megan followed them; without Lance there the hanger held no interest for her. 

* * *

It was breakfast. Scott was grinning. Lance wondered if he should worry. Well, whatever Scott had planned it couldn't be any worse than another day of hauling sand out of the base. In Lance's experience Cyclops only looked _that_ happy when he had some new form of training to inflict on his victims – team, same difference. The fact that he'd asked for Lance, Penance and Megan to accompany him practically confirmed their fate. 

"Forge has the new Danger Room ready." Scott announced. 

"What a shock." Lance grumbled even as he realized he was honestly excited to be using his powers in a combat scenario again. Cable's base had turned out to be a godsend for him in a lot of ways. It thrived off the energy generated by earthquakes and as a side effect it also damped out the evidence of what Lance considered day-to-day use of his powers long before any nosey seismologists could detect it. 

Shortly after Forge got the conversion system up and running Lance suggested using his abilities just once to recharge the batteries and get them off power rationing. Logan and Scott had worried that it might lead the police to them but Cable had been enthusiastically approving. Once they learned that the base's energy collection system hid Lance's power signature and that it's structural design rendered it immune to damage from all but the largest quakes Lance had gleefully gone back to using his power more like he had before he'd gotten sick. 

It had been over eight months since Lance had been free to just be himself. Except for Scott and Rogue everyone used their powers casually around the Mansion, even Jean couldn't pass a dish at dinner without resorting to telekinesis. Lance was convinced Scott's love of the Danger Room was because it was the one place where he felt free to cut loose. Lance didn't know how Rogue coped with always keeping her powers bottled up and he didn't want to know. He didn't mind controlling his powers, keeping the quakes small enough that he didn't accidentally hurt anyone but completely repressing his power was something else; it was depressing but at least it was over now. 

"Hey Lance." Scott called. "I just realized something: This will be the first time you've trained as part of the X-Men." 

Lance rolled his eyes. "We're not X-Men anymore." He pointed out. "Hey Fred, you think Tabby would vote with us to call this team the Brotherhood?" 

Scott winced. Lance hid a grin. 

Fred thought about it for a moment. "Naw, Tabby's never liked that name. She'd probably talk Penny…" The girl in question shot Fred a glare. "Ah… I mean Penance and Meg into calling us the Sisterhood." 

Megan smiled at her nickname. As her attention focused on Fred Lance felt relieved to see her coloration shift away from mimicking Kitty's. 

"How about we call ourselves the Underground, I mean we do live underground." Fred concluded. 

Scott and Lance traded a surprised look. "That's actually… really fitting." Scott said. 

"I like it." Lance agreed. "So are we testing this new torture chamber or not?" 

"Be my guest." Scott said with a wicked smile. "Why don't you show the girls what to expect?" 

Lance's eyes sparkled as he accepted Scott's challenge. He stepped inside while the others headed down the hall to the control room. The doors slid shut behind Lance. Several moments later, Scott's voice came on over the intercom. "All you have to do is get to the other side of the room." 

Lance turned toward the control booth with a smug look. "A cakewalk." He declared and the room disappeared. 

Lance glanced around the forest that surrounded him cautiously then took off in the direction of the far wall at a light jog. 

Despite everything he loved about the base it did screw with his senses a little. He almost stepped on the false patch of ground before recognizing it for a trap. Avalanche threw himself to one side then rolled to come back to his feet as a laser struck the spot where he'd lain a half second earlier. 

The floor shivered, Avalanche grinned fiercely as he filled the ground around him with his powers and kept running. Instinctually he knew every move the floor would make, his feet always found solid footing. The lasers, programmed to shoot a moving target while they remained stationary, struggled to lock on to anything while bouncing around on the suddenly treacherous ground. 

"Nice move." Cyclops said approvingly. "I don't remember you being able to move while you used your powers before." 

"I've gotten better." Avalanche replied. 

"Let's see how you handle this." Cyclops challenged. 

A four-legged robot scuttled out of its lair and blocked Avalanche's path. It coped with the bucking terrain better than the lasers had. Avalanche let it drive him back while he evaluated this new obstacle. 

The severity of the tremors inside the room increased. Faint shivers could be felt in the control room before the base completely dissipated the vibrations. 

Avalanche sent a swell through the floor and flipped the robot on it's back. He cursed when its legs simply reoriented themselves to its new position. It was up again in seconds. 

"Well, I was looking for an excuse to try this." Avalanche commented then ran directly at the machine. He twisted to kick it and called on the earth's strength to back him up. The ground jolted beneath him adding considerable force and momentum to his blow. Avalanche's foot connected with the robot's joint and the mechanical limb shattered. "Fuck!" Lance exclaimed as the force of the blow reverberated back through his body. 

The robot went down. Avalanche finished out the run with a heavy limp. 

* * *

"Do you want to go next?" Fred asked Penance. "You don't have to worry, Scott won't run it at a very high level and if you get upset we'll shut it right down. I promise." 

Penance watched Lance offer a jaunty wave to the control room as he limped through the door then looked back at Fred uncertainly. 

"You'll be fine." He promised solemnly. 

Penance pursed her lips producing a musical, crystal on crystal sound, like the chinking of campaign glasses. Then she nodded. 

She passed Lance on his way back to the control room. He gave her a grin and an encouraging pat on the shoulder. He was careful not to apply too much force, by now they'd all learned that touching her was always a risk. Even when a knife was covered you didn't press too hard on its blade and every edge of Penance's gem-like, multi-facetted body was sharpened to a cutting edge. 

Penance stepped into the empty room then to everyone's surprise she stripped off her jumper. Fred blushed. 

"Her body is her weapon." Scott pointed out. He removed the drop away floors and dialed back the power on the lasers so they'd only cause a slight sting. He didn't want to frighten her. With that done he started the sim. 

Penance ignored the laser banks as they took aim at her. Everyone in the control room stared as the beams reflected harmlessly off Penance's crystalline skin. "I guess I'll use the robot after all." Scott said. "Wouldn't want her to get over-confident." 

Fred watched anxiously as the metal beast bore down on her. Penance cringed away from it. 

"Try to fight it." Scott ordered. 

"Turn it off." Fred said. 

Scott slowed the robot's advance to give Penance time to collect herself. 

"Scott, shut it off!" Fred exclaimed. 

"Give her a chance to get mad." Lance said quietly. "She needs to learn to stand up for herself." 

Fred bit his lip and stared down into the danger room. 

Penance backed away from the robot until her shoulders collided with a wall. 

Scott's hand hovered over the cut off switch. 

The robot reached for Penance. Panicked, she batted its arm away. Sparks were drawn where she connected. Penance stared at the deep scratches she'd scored in the robot's grappling arm. A dark light filled her eyes. 

When the robot reached for her again Penance held her crossed arms in front of her face. When she slid them apart it was like a giant pair of scissors slicing through everything in their path. The grappling arm clattered to the ground, it had been cleanly severed. 

The robot fell back a step. Penance shrieked in rage. Her altered vocal cords made a sound like the shattering of glass. Penance leapt at the robot. 

"So we give her to Logan to train?" Lance said. 

Scott nodded as he shut down the simulation. Penance kept slashing and hacking at the deactivated robot. 

"I'll go talk to her." Fred said. He walked out. 

"Is it my turn?" Megan asked excitedly. 

"Go ahead." Scott said as he shared in her infectious mood. He calmly ignored the trace of red that crept into her hair as her attention focused on him. 

"Bye-bye! I'll do good!" Megan exclaimed. 

"You know that move of Penance's with her arms, it was pretty clever." Lance said. "And I think she guessed that the lasers would bounce off of her. 

"Speaking of new moves, were you trying to break your leg there?" Scott asked. 

Lance's breath escaped in a short irritated huff. "Okay, I didn't land that kick so well. I twisted my ankle a little, it's no big deal." 

"How much of the earthquake's force did you put into it?" Scott demanded. "How much force can your bones withstand? Your body's just human Lance." 

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yes mother." He snorted. "Give it a rest will ya? I'm fine." 

"You have to learn to be careful." Scott continued in a scolding tone. 

"You want to see careful?" Lance demanded. "After Megan's run, you and me. Best two out of three falls." 

"I've been studying martial arts with Logan for four years." Scott pointed out, he felt a touch of his former drive to compete with Lance stirring. "What do you think is going to happen?" 

"I'm a quick study… or maybe you're just slow. Four years, I've seen how you fight." Lance snorted fanning the flames, but his eyes were still openly friendly. 

Scott paused to consider the situation. His old rivalry with Lance had died a very quiet death when illness and depression had stolen away Lance's ability to fight or to lead his team. They'd become friends in the interim and judging from Lance's expression that wasn't changing… Still Lance was recovered, there weren't any immediate external threats or distractions and Lance wasn't exactly the type to surrender unconditionally. 

Scott found himself grinning back at Lance. "How 'bout we wait a few days; I wouldn't want you claiming you lost because of a twisted ankle." 

"Okay, I wouldn't want to embarrass you too badly by winning with a sprain." Lance returned. 

Scott turned back to start Megan's simulation as he thought, "A friendly rivalry, this is going to be an experience." He was surprised by how much he liked the idea. 

* * *

In the room below Megan found Fred attempting to comfort a shaking Penance. He patted her back and spoke soothingly as he drew her away from the chunks of scrap metal that she'd reduced the robot to. 

Megan shivered. She knew Penance wasn't shaking from fear. It was a deep, formless rage that made the ruby girl tremble. 

"Good luck Meg," Fred said when he noticed her standing in the doorway. She gave him a smile and stepped to the side so he could lead Penance away. 

"Ready Megan?" Scott asked a few moments later. 

"Ready!" She exclaimed. Megan wrinkled her nose at the fake forest and leapt into the air. She twisted and dove to avoid the lasers. 

Scott frowned as he wondered how many of her near escapes were the result of her playful exuberance. Since the ground-bound robots Lance and Penance had faced were useless against Megan Scott sent flying drones to confront her. They weren't as powerful but at least they could reach her. 

Megan studied the drones for a few moments then giggled. She swooped down on one drone, grabbed it be a protruding control vein, spun in mid-air and tossed it into one of it's wing-mates. "Dodge ball! You're it!" She cried. 

"She could pretend to take this seriously." Scott groaned. 

"Like Penance?" Lance asked helpfully. "We really haven't had a flyer on the team before." 

"Jean…" 

"Hovers, she makes a really good target of herself while trusting her teke-shield to protect her." Lance replied. "With Jean you would have boosted the powers on the ground embankments and lectured her about not overestimating her invulnerability afterwards." 

"And Sam can barely stop let alone maneuver. Okay you've got a point." Scott admitted. "I'll have Forge make some sort of beefed-up flying attacker to keep her entertained. Can you do anything to enhance the targeting for the ground-based lasers?" 

"Turn control of them over to me." Cable interjected. 

"Thanks." Scott said. 

Megan squeaked when one of the lazars, now under Cable's direction, tagged her. She scowled. The lazars filled the room with an intricate lattice. Megan dove and twisted between them, when she reached the far wall she shouted gleefully. 

"Good job." Scott said. Then he turned off the intercom. "We should work out ways to counter flyers outside of the danger room too." 

Lance nodded. "Remember, we've got something to settle." 

"Once your ankle heals." 

* * *

"Come on!" Tabby exclaimed several days after the first test of the new Danger Room. She grabbed Forge and Fred and hauled them along behind her. "Cyclops and Avalanche are fighting." 

The two boys raced after Tabby. They emerged in the canyon entrance to base then scrambled up to the desert above. A full moon illuminated the sand like a giant spotlight. Scott and Lance circled one another cautiously, both were grinning. 

"Pull up and rock and sit down." Logan told the three latecomers. 

Lance fainted forward. Scott knocked the blow aside. "Weak." Scott commented. 

Lance smirked. "You thought I was trying?" 

They traded a few more blows then Lance made the ground lurch beneath Scott's feet. Before the taller boy recovered his balance Lance flipped him on his back. 

"Two out of three falls, right?" Lance asked as he pinned Scott with a forearm across the other teen's throat. 

"You didn't say we were using our powers." Scott protested. 

Lance smirked. "I didn't say we weren't either." 

Scott lightly touched the side of his visor. "Okay." He said as he looked at Lance's shoulder. 

At that range there was no way Lance could dodge. The blast knocked him several feet away. As he climbed back to his feet Lance rolled his shoulder to test it. 

"Ready to quit?" Scott asked 

"That doesn't count as a fall." Lance stated. "You're half way to loosing, why should I quit." 

"That one was a cheap shot, so I'll give it to you." Scott said and fired another blast at Lance's feet. The ground rippled in front of the dark haired teen and the sand absorbed the concussive energy. Lance shrugged innocently. 

Scott fired again, when Lance pulled the ground up to counter he charged. Scott landed a solid punch on Lance's jaw. The earth-shaker stumbled backward. Scott followed up with a leg sweep. "Now we're even." He said as he offered Lance a hand up. 

"Winner takes all, this time." Lance agreed as they went back to circling. 

This time the ground around Lance came to life. Scott backed away. Given the proximity of the base's energy collectors Lance could only manage a three-meter radius in which his quakes were strong enough to knock Scott off his balance unless Lance reached for the earth's deep energy. Scott still felt like he was standing on the deck of a ship. 

Scott fired and watched a wall of dirt swallow the blast. "Looks like we have a standoff." He commented. 

"Now that's not any fun." Lance dropped to one knee and planted his fist in the sand. The nature of the quake changed from a field of waves to a sand spout. 

Scott ducked and fired. 

"Damn!" Lance dove and rolled to avoid the beam of energy. He came up in a crouch directly in front of Scott and punched the other boy in the gut. 

For a several seconds the two teens rolled across the sand as they grappled with one another. Then they broke apart and rolled to their feet. 

Scott fired, Lance didn't have time to do anything except to go limp and try to minimize the impact. He turned the fall into a controlled backward summersault. The earth responded to Lance's emotions, the quake strengthened and deepened. 

"Rocky, get control of yourself." Logan reprimanded. "Shades stand down." 

Scott stepped backwards and waited. 

Lance remained crouched in the sand. He took a deep breath and the quake subsided. "Sorry; adrenaline." He said. 

"Let's call it a draw." Scott suggested. 

"I'm fine." Lance snapped. 

Scott hesitated. 

"Go ahead." Logan said. He was more interested in Lance's ability to keep his temper and powers separate than in the outcome of the match. Having Scott end the scenario the moment Lance got a little stressed wouldn't show much of anything. 

Scott nodded. "Okay then." He waited for Lance to stand. On the sidelines Tabby and Forge released Fred's arms and sank back into their places. 

Lance rushed Scott. Scott figured that the other teen had decided to end their spar with a purely physical brawl. Scott blocked Lance's strike and the two teens exchanged a series of blows. Lance made sure to press Scott hard enough that the taller boy didn't dare take the time to reach for his visor. He considered trying to knock the visor off so that Scott would be forced to fight blind but it didn't sit right. He knew Scott would never unleash an uncontrolled blast at him. If Lance had Scott's powers and limitations and if he were in a real fight he would have been willing to kill an enemy rather risk what might happen if he lost. 

Scott felt a burst of confidence; without his powers Lance didn't have a chance. Scott had been training with Wolverine for years whereas Lance had only had a few months. Scott employed a judo throw only to loose his leverage when the earth crumbled into loose sand beneath his feet. Scott held on determinedly as Lance's powers turned the terrain against him, he reprimanded himself for assuming that Lance would give up his advantage that easily. He might have backed off after the first sign of trouble with his powers but Lance would always be a risk taker. 

Scott dumped the various judo and karate tactics in favor of a straight wrestling match. There was a lot less that Lance could do with his powers while they were grappling. After a few moments Scott got a leg hooked behind Lance's and sent them both to the ground. He landed heavily on top of Lance then met the other teen's eyes and freed a hand. 

"Yield." Lance sighed as he recognized that Scott could potentially take his head off. He knew Scott would never carry out the implied threat but he also knew he'd lost. 

Scott rolled to his feet then stumbled and ended up on his knees. "Gah, I think I'm seasick." He complained. 

Tabby giggled. Forge clapped. Fred looked uncertain. 

Lance chuckled. "Serves you right. Good match." 

"You too." Scott replied. "I'm going to have to start training harder, another couple of months and you might take me in a no-powers spar." 

Logan shrugged. "Rocky has good instincts for hand to hand, he just needed to learn to keep his head when he fought. You, on the other hand, tend to over think things." 

Scott grimaced. "I'd really rather take my opponents down at a dozen paces." 

"Too bad I got shields huh?" Lance asked smugly. 

Fred smiled, reassured that the two people he'd chosen to follow were still on the same side. Deep down he knew he'd always have a closer friendship with Lance, but he'd never feel right about fighting against Scott again.


End file.
